Bell 47G-3B-1 N3084G

Summary

On 4 December 1998 at about 09:00 local time, a Bell 47G-3B-1 registered N3084G was involved in an accident near Winterhaven, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 December 1998 at 09:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Winterhaven, California, United States

Coordinates

32.8705, -114.7196

Aircraft

Bell 47G-3B-1

Registration

N3084G

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX99LA049

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot to maintain rotor rpm. A factor was his attempt to take off over gross weight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had been spraying the field for about 3 hours. He attempted to take off at or over gross weight and the rotor rpm began to decay. The helicopter was positioned perpendicular to the furrowed rows in the field and when the pilot attempted to land the left skid dug into the mud. The aircraft bounced forward and the main rotor blades flexed downward and severed the tailboom. The pilot reported that he had not experienced any mechanical discrepancies with the aircraft prior to the accident. He further stated that he had not experienced any problems with the engine during the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.